Politics & Government
Schoenheider Extends Service to Community with Alderman Post
Eight-year resident will replace Hanrahan to lead Third Ward.
Don Schoenheider has packed a full resume of service in his eight years as a resident of Lake Forest.
The Peoria native has served on the city's Laurel Avenue Redevelopment Committee and the Barat Citizen's Committee, and he spent six years on the Building Review Board, where he also logged one year as chairman.
He is also active with the School of St. Mary and has been on the board of the Conway Farms Homeowner's Association.
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"It's my passion for the community," Schoenheider said. "Lake Forest is truly home. It's really such a special place."
And he's about to add another item to that resume.
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Schoenheider was sworn in as Third Ward alderman at the Oct. 4 Lake Forest City Countil meeting. He will finish the term of Greg Hanrahan, who resigned after he moved from the Third Ward to the First Ward. Schoenheider stepped forward after being approached by the caucus to fill the vacancy.
"I know [Schoenheider]'s going to do extremely well here," Lake Forest Mayor James Cowhey said. "In the short time he has been in Lake Forest, he has been extremely busy. We're going to keep it that way."
Schoenheider said his top issue to tackle during his tenure as alderman is the city's budget. Like many communities, the downturn in the economy has caused a decrease in revenue in Lake Forest.
"How do we get enough income to fund services that we provide to the residents?" Schoenheider said.
In addition, Schoenheider said he will focus on the long term viability of Market Square, storm water management, water systems and parks.
"You don't think about these things on a day-to-day basis but on a year-to-year basis," he said.
Schoenheider is the vice president and manager of Liberty Property Trust, and he has a business degree from Valparaiso University. He said he has always wanted to become involved in city management.
And he doesn't expect it to end with this partial term. Schoenheider said he will run for a full term when the office comes up for re-election.
"It didn't go into this with the intent of doing it for six months," he said. "The longer I can stay on, the better and more effective I'll be."
